Wellworth Polymers

In Conversation

Polymerupdate : Since the start of your company by your father Late Prof. M.K.A Hameed, how do you think the PVC pipes market has developed in India?
Mr. Haseeb : At the outset before going in to the question, I would like to add few words about my father Late.Prof.M.K.A.Hameed. He was one of the Senior Chemical Engineers in the country who graduated from USA. Before charting the business, he had lot of proven track records in various fields. 

• Chief design engineer in FACT
• Principal in a reputed Engineering College in Kerala
• Member of Legislative Assembly in Kerala
• First Vice Chairman of Kerala State Planning Board, and   so on..

All these experiences and his vision has helped to set a strong foothold in the industry and maintaining the growth at a higher level. 

Now coming back to the question, in fact we have launched PVC pipes in Kerala in 1973. At that time, PVC pipes were only in its inception stage in Kerala perhaps in India itself.  It was a Herculean task to market the concept of this new product. Moreover, the availability of the raw material [PVC Resin] was so limited  as only few companies like Chemplast, PRC were manufacturing PVC resin, due to which our raw material orders were also rationed. Above all, scarcity of Pipe fittings in the market had created great concern. So while selling pipes , it became our responsibility to provide market with proportionate volumes of PVC Fittings.

In spite of all these hindrances, PVC pipes has established its own position in the market due to its – Durability, Affordable Price, Ease in Handling and Hygienic Nature.  Over the period of time, many other varieties of pipes like PolyEthylene, PolyPropylene, ACC, Steel and FRP were introduced in the market, but they were not good enough to replace PVC pipes. 

Talking about the market Growth of PVC pipes in India, the market has grown more than 3000 times since its introduction. As India is growing, the average per capita consumption for PVC in India is about 0.85 kg/head. However, our neighboring developing countries, the average consumption is much more. For example in China, the per capita consumption is 4 kg/head. India is also growing at the same pace as China, so we expect the consumption will go up and its net outcome will be a “prosperous future for PVC pipe Industry” in the coming years

Polymerupdate : Kindly elaborate on the Mirror Finished Technology (MFT) PVC pipes. How is it different than conventional PVC pipes?
Mr. Haseeb : If you look at a conventional pipe, the outer surface used to have good finish in which Inner used to be very rough.  This happens due to the normal extrusion process that includes pressurized, then compressed and there after cooling the product. Our MFT [Mirror Finished Technology] is an Innovative Technology which is totally different from conventional extrusion. This technology has brought so many special features to our PIPE namely.

• The Inner & Outer side of our pipe become extremely hard and extra smooth. Also Its wear resistance is of the highest class in comparison to other brands.
• The concept of energy saving has always been an attention grabber. Because of its Mirror Smooth Inner side, water can be pumped to any length and heights without much resistance. It saves energy
• This Glass like smoothness prevents settling of dirt and bacteria and ensures hygienic condition of water supply.

Polymerupdate : Yours is also the first company in the world which can produce 4 pipes of the same quality as prescribed by BIS from a single extruder with 4 DIE technology. Could you throw some light on the manufacturing process of the same?
Mr. Haseeb : Initially in PVC pipe industry, the general manufacturing concept was producing single pipe with single Die.   Since the maximum output offered by machineries at that time was as low as 20-30 kg per hour, the concept did worked.

In foreign countries, the demand for PVC pipes including for larger sizes has increased. Based on demand, they have upgraded the technology and introduced bigger type machineries.  The out put goes up to the level of  400 – 600 kg/hr. In India also high output machineries were gradually introduced. 

But in India, the demand was mainly for smaller type of PVC pipes ranging from 20 mm – 110 mm. With Single die and with high capacity extruders, nobody could utilize the 100% capacity of their machinery. The net result was “Power Loss, Low capacity Utilization, Installation of many machines to meet the targets, Keeping Huge inventories, more space, more manpower etc.. which translated to huge financial burden for entrepreneur. 

Our R&D Team has successfully tackled this issue by inventing 2 Die technology in 1997 for the first time in India and it was indeed a great success.  But in the case of smaller sizes like 20mm, 32 mm and 40 mm size 2 Die was not enough to maintain machine productivity at 100% level.   But again, hard work and commitment paved the way in finding out an effective solution. Systematic research and trials conducted by our research team were successful in inventing 4 Die [producing 4 pipes from a single extruder]. This has helped us to go one step ahead of any other Pipe manufacturer and maintain our efficiency at its best level. 

Polymerupdate : Do you have any future plans of expanding your market presence outside of southern India?
Mr. Haseeb : Definitely, we are planning for expansion outside of southern states.

Polymerupdate : Do you have any plans of expanding your product portfolio in future?
Mr. Haseeb : We have an excellent range of products  like “ PVC pipes, Fittings, Flexible hoses, Suction Hoses, Ball Valves, Solvent Cement, Welding Rods .Besides ,we are also in to making machineries for extrusion, and also Dies & Tools  etc.. Being the market leader, we are bound to bring more innovative products based on the changing demands of customers.

Polymerupdate : Do you export your products, if yes to which countries?
Mr. Haseeb : Our local market demand itself is very huge and we have been quite successful in meeting them with our 4 Die Technology. However, we have exported pipes to Maldives for their special requirement of 315 mm pipe for constructing floating restaurants and resorts in the sea.

Polymerupdate : What is the total monthly consumption of PVC resin?
Mr. Haseeb : Our Group Turn over is about 600 MTS PVC Resin per month 

Polymerupdate : What advice will you give to budding entrepreneurs in this field? 
Mr. Haseeb : For the budding entrepreneurs, my advice is “to have a clear objective & vision, commitment, desire to achieve it, built a strong team, mindset to face any challenges and it is a blend of all these which helps in achieving success”.